Two stranded rock jockeys plucked to safety by helicopter; two
more spend miserable night on cliff
Four stranded rock climbers at the Pinnacles National Monument
had to be rescued Sunday and Monday when they got stuck on Machete
Ridge, one of the tallest cliffs in the park.
Two stranded rock jockeys plucked to safety by helicopter; two more spend miserable night on cliff
Four stranded rock climbers at the Pinnacles National Monument had to be rescued Sunday and Monday when they got stuck on Machete Ridge, one of the tallest cliffs in the park.
The climbers got into trouble when one of the less experienced climbers left the planned route of the ascent and was unable to climb back up. The crew from a California Department of Forestry helicopter plucked two of the climbers, Andre Herrera and Michael Fosnowski, off the ridge Sunday evening. However, efforts to rescue the other two climbers, Hein Roehrig and Daniel Preda, were suspended as it became to dark to safely use the helicopter.
Park rangers and sheriff’s deputies assessed the situation Sunday night, and determined the two climbers still stuck on the cliff had enough gear and supplies to survive the night.
“Two rangers remained in the field to monitor the climbers overnight,” said Dana Sullivan, a ranger at the Pinnacles.
When day broke Monday morning, the two remaining climbers made a short rappel and then scrambled down the rest of the route. By 8:30 a.m. they were back on a ground trail and were accompanied by rangers to the Chaparral parking area.
According to a statement issued by the park, Roehrig and Preda were cold and tired by the time they made it to ground but no one was injured.
“The outcome could have been tragically different,” said Carl Brenner, the park’s Supervisor of Interpretation and Education.
Brenner urges that all visitors to the park should come equipped with plenty of water and snacks, and to be aware that the remote wilderness area is hours away from potential medical assistance.
The Pinnacles National Monument gets its name from its hallmark rocky spires and cliff faces. Many of the cliff walls present an irresistible challenge to rock climbing enthusiasts. The spires were created millions of years ago when a super volcano in what is now Lancaster (near Edwards Air Force Base) blew its top, ejecting thousands of tons of magma and rock into the stratosphere. It landed in what would someday be called San Benito County.
